Burning Brimstone
by AnimeandMangaLover
Summary: A girl sets out to meet her long distance boyfriend and ends up on a trip through medieval time and space to become heroes, lovers and royalty.
1. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2

Chapter 1 The Making of the Stones

There once was a woman named Zabani Menossu. Zabani lived in a quaint little cottage in the woods a few miles from the town, . Zabani was a scientist, but she also believed in magic and potions and such. She spent many years trying to make at least one potion that worked. Finally, after years of trials and failures, she succeeded. From that point on she'd make just as many potions as scientific discoveries.

Zabani was also a little crazy, you could say; every once and a while she would have 'episodes', as her family called them, where she would act crazy and talk about crazy things. Most of the time they just agreed with her or ignored her. They didn't mind as long as she wasn't hurting herself or anyone else, which she never did.

There was one thing that she had the most 'episodes' about: a magical land where kids were never heroes and were always thought of as being in the way of the adults who would end up saving the kids from whatever danger they ended up in. She wanted to make a potion that could give kids all the powers they could possibly need to save the adults for once, instead of always being treated like worthless children who were just liabilities for the adults.

Her family never thought she would ever actually try to make something like that, because, to them anyways, there was no point to it and it was impossible and just plain crazy. But what they never knew was that she was always trying to make this potion, she just never let them in her lab or know anything about what she did in there.

It was one of these times when our story starts. Zabani was in her lab with a huge pot in front of her; she would mumble something, then drop a few things in and then start mumbling again. Once when she was reaching up to get something off a shelf she accidentally knocked three bottles over the edge and watched them as the fell into her pot. They fell too fast for her to see what they were. The second they hit the mixture in the pot it started to bubble over and then all of the sudden the pot exploded. Zabani was thrown across the lab. She hit the wall and slid down to the floor with her hands over her head for protection.

When the smoke finally floated away and she could think clearly again, she first noticed that her pot was completely gone and on the counter behind where the pot had been there were four cages. Each had a different animal in it and in front of each cage was a small stone, each a different color.

"What the heck..." Zabani said quietly as she sat frozen on the floor. She stared at the sight in front of her with great shock and confusion.

Chapter 2 The Hidden Plot

Not far off in the forest inside a magical containment dome was a hidden country cut off from the rest of the world by its corrupt leaders to keep its people weakened and under their complete control. Inside the great palace of the Cerulean Empire, just one of the many empires of the country; the emperor and his high priest were consulting about how to succeed in their plans of power and domination. They knew they were running out of time, but things weren't happening as fast as they had expected them to.

"If we don't start pushing things along our whole plan will fall apart at the seams!" The priest said agitatedly, pacing back and forth in front of his old comrade and cousin, the emperor.

"I know, I know!" Emperor Timothy muttered as he scowled at his priest. "It's just that the people have been acting up so much lately that I've had to keep a closer watch on them; I'm worried they might rebel soon and-"

"Oh, just cut the crap, Tim!" Anthony, the priest, said as he angrily interrupted the emperor, "I know you and you can't keep using that lame excuse about the people acting up so you can mess up the plan just because you're too scared to go through with it as we get so close to out climax."

"But..."

"No buts, we started this together and you're not backing out now, so just sit here and try not to do anything stupid while I figure out how to get things going."

Tim sullenly watched his old friend and cousin, leave the throne room and quietly said to himself,

"He's gotten so bossy lately" He couldn't help sighing heavily after that statement.


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Broken Promise

Zabani was still staring silently at the animals; a dog, a cat, a horse, and a mini dragon, when a voice from her past filled her lab and brought all those old memories rushing back.

"It's been a long time, my dear Zabani-Chan." The voice said, sending a shiver through her body. That voice wasn't the same as it had been the last time she'd heard it; it now had an icy, almost unfeeling edge to it. She immediately got a very bad feeling about it. But she forgot all about that as the hopefulness rose in her when she remembered Anthony's promise to her years ago. Could he possibly know how to fix the mistake he'd made as an apprentice mage?

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It had been about 12 years ago when Zabani had been young and foolish and had just begun to explore the endless possibilities of magic. She had moved into the woods and had been taking a walk in the forest when she somehow made her way through the magical dome and into that hidden world. She knew enough about magic to figure out what was going on, so she decided that while she was there she might as well explore a little.

As if by fate, which of course she believed in; she soon met Anthony, the mage-in-training, and became very close to him. Time passed much more slowly there than where she came from. So she was only gone for about 3 weeks, but she actually lived in that magical world for half a year. She was soon dating Anthony and becoming good friends with his cousin, Timothy, commonly known as Tim.

In fact it was one of her good friends there who ended up going steady and being engaged to Tim years later. If she hadn't been there they never would have met. (Quite ironic, huh?)

Anthony's master was a great teacher, but Anthony, commonly known as Tony, believed that his master wasn't letting him do enough advanced stuff that he was so sure he was ready for. So he snuck into his master's personal library and 'borrowed' some books on more advanced techniques and skimmed through them until he found one spell he was dying to try: mind control. But he needed someone to try it on and he had to make sure his master never found out about his disobedience, of course.

Surprisingly, Zabani offered to let him test out the spell on her. As long as he didn't make her do anything wrong or embarrassing and if he promised to undo the spell right away when he was done. She knew how much it meant to him to try this.

Unfortunately, he really wasn't ready for that high level of magic. He never even fully completed the spell binding before something went wrong and he realized he was losing control of his magic. He saw it was hurting Zabani and so he tried to just dismantle the spell right there, but before he could the magic whipped back at him and threw him down to the floor. His head smacked into the concrete and he blacked out with the sound of Zabani's screams echoing in his head.

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He woke up in his bed with his master hovering over him wanting an explanation. Anthony quickly squeezed his eyes shut while he tried to come up with a believable excuse for all this.

"I know you're awake and I know you are trying to come up with some sort of elaborate excuse, but you know I can always see through your lies. So just tell me the truth and make this easier for both of us.'

"Before I say anything though, may I ask what happened to Zabani?" Tony asked humbly.

"No. Until you explain yourself to me you will just have to wait and wonder." Anthony regretfully told his master of every sorry thing he'd done.

"Hmph, I cannot believe this behavior, Anthony" He said, sighing. "But now do you understand that you are nowhere near ready for that kind of spell?"

Anthony slightly nodded his head while he stared at the ground, unable to even look at his master.

"I knew you were a foolish child, but I never imagined you could be this foolish. You could have killed yourself or that young woman that you supposedly care so _much_ about!" Anthony's head hung even lower at the mention of Zabani.

"Look at me, Anthony." His master said much more calmly. Anthony slowly looked up and gazed hopefully at his master. "Don't worry; I'm not going to expel you." His master said sounding somewhat amused.

"But why not, Master? Why be so kind to me when I have wronged you so?"

"Because I can see that you do understand your mistake and have already learned from it. And I also see how you care about that young woman and how much this hurts you. But I only keep you as a student if you promise to study hard and become an apprentice I can trust."

"I can do all that, Master, I know I can." Anthony said quickly.

"That's not _all_ you must do. You don't only owe me for this; think of what you've done to that poor girl. You must beg her forgiveness for now and once you are advanced enough in your studies you can learn how to undo that spell you tried to put on her and you can cure her of the damage that was done to her by the out of control magic." Anthony just stared in shock as he started to think about what could have happened to Zabani.

"You will accept this responsibility, will you not?"

"Yes, of course I will... but what if she won't let me try to cure her, what if she-"

"Stop your whining. I don't want to hear you whining _ever_ again. You must learn to be strong now in order to accomplish this task, Anthony." His master said sternly, cutting him off before he could end up sounding ungrateful or anything.

"Yes, of course Master. I must try to be strong, like you."

His master raised his eyebrows and looked questioningly at him.

"I don't want you to be a suck-up either." His master said with laughter in his voice.

"Yes Master." Anthony said trying to hide a grin. He suddenly slid back into his depression as he realized, 'I'm here laughing and having fun when who knows what Zabani's going through!'

"Uh, Master," he said quietly, "Can you now, please, tell me what happened to Zabani?"

"Yes, I suppose it's time you knew." Anthony stared at his master with wide eyes.

"She isn't much physically hurt-only some cuts and bruises- but she has really been mentally injured." The master said solemnly.

"Wha..."

"Don't interrupt if you want to know; just calm down. I will explain." "Come, walk with me; I'll explain on the way."

"Way? Way to what?"

"Don't ask questions, just listen." There was silence for a few seconds, and then the master continued;

"We are going to that young woman." He said simply. Anthony's head shot up at that, but then it slowly lowered back down in shame.

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They walked through the winding hallways in silence and then stopped outside a far room. Anthony looked expectantly at his master.

"The damage isn't that great right now, but it will keep growing the longer it is untended to." His master said solemnly.

"What exactly is the damage, Master?"

"The best way to explain it is as a mental handicap that will make her spacey and somewhat crazy. As time goes by she will lose more and more of her sanity and eventually might lose control of her body and possibly hurt someone." This news hit Anthony like a ton of bricks and was so very difficult for him to accept.

"The faster you train, the sooner we can avoid that." The master said simply. Anthony couldn't believe how his master was acting like this was nothing. He knew he would be in trouble for this but he couldn't take this anymore; he just exploded.

"How can you be so calm about this!? Don't you care in the slightest bit! How can you pass this off like nothing and just go on and on about training!" There was an awkward silence that followed and then his master spoke with annoyance in his voice.

"Are you quite finished? Did that make you feel better? What gives you the right to say such things to me? You don't know everything that's happened in my life. Why do you take your anger out on me? It won't fix anything by trying to lay the blame on me. You did this all on your own; so if you want to yell at someone yell at yourself and leave me out of it. _And, _for your information, I do care about what has happened to that poor girl, but I'm not the one who has wronged her and I'm not the one who has to learn from this disaster and hope she could ever forgive me. Now, go speak with her and once you are less immature come and see me." With that the master turned and stalked off to his office leaving Anthony in shock at his master's outrage.

Once he was released from his shock he turned to look at the door in front of him. For, what seemed like forever to him, he stared at the intricate design on the wooden door; afraid to go in, afraid of what his future would be like after this. He shook his head to try to shake out his doubts; took a few deep breaths and slowly inched toward the door handle. He slowly opened the door and tiptoed into the dark, little room.

'Maybe I can slip in, take a good look at her and slip out; without having to speak to her.' But unfortunately for him Zabani has very good hearing and was able to hear the door's slow creaks as it inched open and sprang up from her little corner. She sped across the little space and enveloped him in a tight hug. 'Aw crap...! Well that ruins that idea.'

"Um, h-hi..." he stammered out.

"What happened? Are you ok? I've been so worried about!"

Tony flinched and stiffened up at her concern.

'Why is he stiffening up like this? What's wrong with him? He really must have hurt his head!'

After minutes of clinging to him she finally released him and took a step back. She looked up at him quizzically while he fidgeted and tried to figure out where to start. Luckily for him Zabani couldn't take the silence anymore and just burst.

"What happened?! All I remember is you falling and slamming into the floor. I tried to get to you but I couldn't move and then your master came running in, took one look at us and shook his head and did something that put a barrier around us and floated us toward him, then once we left the room he sealed it after us and took me to this room and told me to wait until you came to me. Then he just left with you and I was so worried and confused and alone! Actually, I still am. So what exactly happened?" She finally stopped to take a breath while Tony was speechless at her outburst.

'Oh God..., I am so dead when she finds out what I did.'

"You seem kinda out of it, you really must have hurt your head."

"Um, well, not really..."

"Not really? Whadda mean, not really?"

She looked him directly in the eye with a look that he knew could see right through him. He tried to scramble for any scrap of a lie he could but his mind was frozen solid in her gaze.

"Um, well..., um."

She crossed her arms and leaned on her left hip as she raised her eyebrows, waiting impatiently. He became very interested in the floor as he shuffled his feet.

"Well...?" She said drawing the word out to put more pressure on him.

"Cinq..."

'Oh crap', He knew that was French; Zabani had taken a few years of French, but only used it with him when she was mad or teasing. But he knew she was_ totally _mad now.

"Quatre..."

He figured she was counting down and even though he didn't know the numbers, he knew they were very close to zero.

"Toi..."

'Crap, crap, crap; what an I gonna say! What am I gonna do!'

"Deux.."

'Um, um, um, um, um..."

"Un.."

He instantly dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together as he sputtered out as many "I'm sorrys" as he could.

"Well that's a start." She muttered.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Zabani's Reaction and Tony's Decision

"So, what exactly did you do that you're _so_ sorry for?" Zabani mused tentatively.

"Well, um..., you see, um..., the thing is, um...-"

"Oh, just spit it out already and don't even try to lie to me 'cause you know I'll be able to tell." Zabani said agitatedly, as she was starting to get suspicious.

"I..., well I...; argh! Can I just write it out, cause I can't really say it to your face." Tony whined.

She sighed and then consented, "Fine, if you'll hurry up; I'm tired of not knowing."

He scrambled for a piece of paper, and when he couldn't find anything to write with Zabani tossed a pen at him. He grabbed for it and started scribbling as fast as he could, while Zabani started tapping her foot and looking up at toward the ceiling. She watched him write and cross out and mumble to himself and then finally put the pen down as he clung to the paper.

"Well?" She said, "Hand it over."

He let go and watched the paper flutter in the air toward her. When it settled at her feet she slowly bent down and clutched it in her quivering hand. She was now getting slightly scared of what she was about to read. Zabani slowly glanced toward the paper, very tempted to just throw this bad new away from her so she wouldn't have to know. In the end she began to read.

_First off, Zabani, I really am sorry about this and I know I'm an idiot and I wouldn't blame you if you hated me and never talked to me again or anything. You have all rights to. I really do care about you and I really, truly despise myself now and forever for this. I'm the worst person on Earth; I'm worthless, I should be dead, I don't deserve to live for doing this vile thing! I'm very tempted to just kill myself so you and everyone else will never have to deal with me and my idiocy. I don't even deserve to be near you now and I just wish someone or something could strike me down so you won't be affected anymore by my ignorance. For you see, I have hurt you, not physically, but I have injured your mind and even though you may not realize it now but someday you will, and you will curse me and I will welcome it, because I know it's more than I deserve for you to even be thinking of me at all. My master said you won't be affected much for a while, but within a few years your mind will change and lose it's sanity and it might make you hurt yourself or someone else and you won't even be able to do anything, all because of me. But please just promise me one thing: If I somehow find a way to fix my folly, will you let me try to help my pride and my great shame to heal you from your one con that I created? Huh, Zabani-Chan?_

Zabani fell back into the wall just shocked speechless. But not only that, she was shocked by how much Tony's words had touched her heart and flattered her so much that she went all teary eyed. She was about ready to just forgive him and not care about what he had done-wait.

'What he had done...' '"Your mind will make you hurt yourself or someone else."' Zabani slid down the wall till she was sitting on the floor. She pulled up her knees till they touched her chin and put her head into her hands as she started to cry at the thought of how she couldn't be around children or her family or friends... or anyone... 'cause she'd hurt them.

She wanted to hate Tony for this, but she couldn't really do it. She knew he understood what he had done and even was willing to heal her whether or not she would ever acknowledge him again. She wanted to hate him, yet she wanted to forgive him and just keep loving him. He was a great guy, but he was still human and everyone makes mistakes. But this was a big mistake that shouldn't be forgiven; at least not right away.

She glanced at him, but couldn't stand the sight of him; her heart was torn harshly in two and it hurt intensely just to see him. She tried to speak, but she couldn't even bear to say anything. After a few minutes she stood up and ran away; but as she sped past him she tossed a note toward him and looked into his greenish-brown eyes one last time, that she would remember forever.

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Tony would never forget that look on Zabani's face-it had been full of pain and anguish and also love and a slight bit of anger, as well as her many tears streaming down her face. He_ really _wanted to die now-'but wait!'- Zabani had tossed a folded up piece of paper at him when she passed him. 'Where did it go!?'

"Ah, there!" He snatched up the note and quickly ripped it open and scanned the short letter.

_I love you so much Tony, but I just can't see you for a while. I will wait for you to find a way to heal me. I can't face you till then though; it hurts too much. But I will be able to forgive you in time; right now I'm still trying to let all this sink in. But I do not want you to die or anything. I really care for you. So I will see you again, once this is all over. Au revior for now dear, dear, Tony-kun._

He almost fainted dead away at that. 'She still loves me, even though I'm a stupid, ignorant, fool. She really is the most amazing girl ever.

'Now I understand my master's meanings! I was being so _childish_! I need to become serious, just like Master. Now I wonder he's so powerful; he knows how to keep a calm head. Once I learn to be like that and I can cure Zabani I will be worthy to be in her presence, at least.'

Tony stood up and turned stiffly. It hurt him that Zabani had run from him and couldn't face him. But that gave him more motives to grow up and become a great man _and _mage and so deserve to see her again and heal her and fulfill his promise.

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Tony walked into his master's quarters and waited to be acknowledged. His master looked him up and down and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"You understand now, don't you?" Tony just nodded humbly. "I can see you are going to grow up very wise", his master mused.

"So, uh..., when will I be able to learn the technique that will cure Zabani?" Tony asked foolishly.

"You act as if you'll be learning it soon. Maybe you aren't as mature as I thought you were..., yet." His master said in a deflated tone as he sighed.

"Wha..."

"You won't even be able to attempt such a thing for at least 30 years or so into your train-"

"WHAT!!!" "... Uh, oh crud."

"Well, it seems you still have a lot of your immaturity buried in you. You better work on _that_ before you even think about me training you for this." The master said with a trace of amusement in his voice.

"It'll really take that_ long_, Master?" Tony said quietly.

"Yes, I'm afraid it will; so you had better be sure about this because you'll be spending a lot of your life working toward this goal, you know."

"Yeah.., I know; but I need to do this for Zabani.. And more importantly for myself," Tony said in a resigned voice. His master raised an eyebrow in surprise at that.

"This is a personal battle I _must_ win." Tony said determined.

"Well, well, well; maybe you are a _bit_ more mature than your were. You should go get some rest now. Your training will start tomorrow at three." The master said in a pleased tone.

"Three? As in three a.m.?!"

"Yes. You know that three is the most magical number and morning is the most peacefully spiritual time to train; so three a.m. is perfect." The master said simply with his voice full of amusement.

"Oh, right." Tony said defeated.

"Try to get some sleep will you; I don't want to listen to you complain all morning." Tony's master said teasingly.

"Sure." He said as he walked out the door dejectedly.

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"Sleep. Ha! Right, who could sleep at a time like this?" Tony muttered as he dragged his feet on the oak wood floor. "This is almost as bad as finding out that I'd hurt Zabani-Chan. If only there was a quicker way. Oh well, I guess this is just what I deserve. But I don't want Zabani to have to wait so long. Who knows what could happen to her in thirty plus years." He couldn't help but to sigh in depression. All Tony had wanted to do was learn enough to impress girls, especially Zabani once he had started crushin' on her. But now look what had come of his showoffy-ness.

"I'm never gonna showoff for a girl ever again." He strolled out into a courtyard and gazed at the stars as he chanted a rhyme he learned when he was young. "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish, I wish tonight-that there was a faster way to become a great mage and a powerful man to impress a girl for one last time."

Just then a strange voice came out of the darkness,

"Well I don't know about becoming a great _'mage'_, but for a small comeuppance I can make you a powerful sorcerer." The voice said ominously.

"Who dares to intrude on a mage-in-training in this private courtyard!?" Tony said outraged, trying to sound big and important; but only succeeding in sounding silly.

"Calm down, boy, calm down. I'm just here to help; unless you wanna waste thirty years of your life... _or_ just a few weeks." The voice said with amusement added in at the last words.

"Wha..., are you serious? _Weeks_? Just weeks, really?" Tony said growing more excited by the minute.

"Yes", the voice hissed, "only _weeks_."

'Forget being a mage! I can be a sorcerer within a month! Hmm..., but would Zabani-Chan be proud of a sorcerer? They kinda have bad reputations. Well, maybe that'll impress! A _good_ sorcerer! Yeah, using sorcery for good would impress her; and I could still study to be a mage so as not to insult my sensei. I could cure Zabani and be her guy again within a few months! Just what I was wishin' for; this is my lucky day!' Tony could hardly believe it.

As the mystery man watched this reaction he started to chuckle evilly; "Yes, this will be a great successor for me. Before long he will be more evil than I am and once I die I can watch him wreck havoc on the world from Hell."

"Huh, what?" Tony questioned him, "Did you say something? Sorry I wasn't listening; was it important?" He said, afraid to insult this man and not receive the training he needed.

"No, it was nothing. So, does this mean you accept my offer?"

"Most likely, but what was that comeuppance you mentioned?"

"Oh that; I'll tell you about it later, you don't need to know now and it's a delicate operation, everything is on a need to know basis at the moment, ya know?"

"Sure, but I really can cure Zabani within a few weeks?"

"Yes, yes; I know it sounds unfeasible, but don't worry. Within a month you will be able to do _whatever_ you want." The man said creepily.

"Wow! Alright, when do I start training?" Tony exclaimed eagerly.

"Right now", the man said as he reached out of the darkness Tony's arm and pulled him out of the light.

"Ok..., but I have to be back by three a.m. to t-"

"You'll be back when I say so!"

"But, my sensei is expecting me and-"

"Well I don't care! If you wanna learn sorcery you will do it by _my_ schedule or not at all!"

"Well, argh! Alright, I guess." 'Sensei's gonna ream me out for this one with another one of his tedious, _extremely_ long lectures."

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The short man dragged him through the shadows till they reached a rundown, ramshackle building. He let go of Tony and shuffled to the beat up door. Tony sated and raised his eyebrows at the _thing_ that barely fit to be called a house.

'How can a sorcerer live in a place like this? I thought all of them were rich. Man, I guess that was just some dumb rumor or something. Weird...'

"Are you comin' or not? It may not be like_ your _big 'ol fancy house, but it's still a house and if ya wanna learn from me you're just gonna have to deal with it. Got that, Boy?"

"My name's not _boy_!" 'Who does he think he is to call _me_ 'boy'?"

"I'm your new teacher, that's what!"

"Wha... Did you just read my mind or something!?"

"Huh, Whadda ya mean, or _something_? What else could I have done, Boy?"

"My name's not _boy_!"

"I'll call ya whatever I want! You're _my_ student now and you're gonna start actin' like it!"

"Bu-"

"No buts! And I ain't gonna call you nothin' but _Boy_, till ya earn it and give me some _respect_!"

"Hmph!"

"Don't 'hmph' me, unless ya wanna start gettin' some punishments already."

"Punishments!"

"Yes,_ Boy_! I'm not such a softie as your _mage_ master and you really need to learn some discipline. You ain't gonna disobey me like ya do with _that_ master; so ya better get used to it!"

'Uh! I can't believe this guy!'

"You better believe it and your thoughts better be more respectful too; or I'll just pile on the punishments. More fun for me!"

'Hmph!'

"Yeah, yeah! Hmph, yourself, _Boy_!" Tony twitched and clenched his teeth at that.

"Good! Your finally learnin' to shut yer' yap. Now come on!"

This was Tony's last chance to get away; he knew once he stepped into that house he would be stuck. He took a deep breath and cautiously entered as he heard the door slam magically behind him.

The man took off his ratty coat and scuffed shoes.

'Ugh!' Tony couldn't help but think.

"'Ey, this is _my_ house and I'm a' gonna be comfortable whether you like it or not."

The man was getting twitchy as he was reaching the moment that would ensure his future for good. 'Once I get my power into this kid he'll be mine to control!'

"Now, come 'ere and stand still."

"What for?"

"Wha' for?'Cause I said so, tha's wha' for."

'Argh...'

"Oh, hush up and hold yer arms up." Tony raised his arms slightly, not sure if he even wanted to be here anymore. Instantly the man grabbed his forearms and clutched them tightly with a burning touch.

"Ahh...!" Tony cried out in pain.

"Oh, hush; this is the least painful part, ya know." The man said, irritated as he was so close to his goal.

"_Least_ painful! What do you mean _least_! This hurts!"

"Well, if I'd known ya were such a wimp I would a' found someone tougher. If ya can't even take_ this_, you'll never be a successful sorcerer; Sorcery is painful!" The man cried out in insane glee.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was excruciating, like fire running up Tony's arms, through his veins to his skull.

'Oh God, I'm gonna die here! But I can't, I have to help Zaban-'

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" His thoughts were cut off as more screams of agony burst out him. Everything started to go fuzzy as Tony blacked out and collapsed unconscious onto the rotting wooden floor with many items and garments of all sorts scattered around him.

'Zabani...' She was all he could think about when everything went dark.

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Tony awoke with a pounding in his head. His fingers went to his temples were a great pain was festering.

"Ya finally awake, huh? Took ya long enough, ya great wimp." The voice brought everything to the front of his mind as he winced at the thought of all the pain he'd felt. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted in the bright light of morning peeking through the broken window.

"It's morning? Last thing I remember is pitch darkness." Tony said, trying to straighten his thoughts in his head.

"Well, you could _say_ it's mornin' but it's more like..., just about noon." The scratchy, low voice said with amusement. Tony jumped up and instantly fell back down as he had smacked his head into something. The man burst out laughing at him.

"At least yer entertainin' even if yer a coward." He said, still chuckling away.

"Uhhgg..., but wait! Did you say almost _noon_!?!?!?"

"Yep."

"Oh crap! I have to go! I'm so, so, soo late! My sensei's gonna merdalize me for this!" He yelled, scrambling around to make sure he had all his belongings and then wobbly headed for the door.

"There's no point in ya leavin', ya know? Ya don't even know where ya are, do ya?" The man questioned him.

"Well..." Tony tried to stay calm as he waited, "Where are we?"

"Oh, tha's not important. I can get ya home; I'm a sorcerer, ain't I?"

'I don't know _what_ he is anymore.'

"I heard that! Do ya wanna try some punishments already?!"

"Crud... No, no, _sorry_, never mind. But by the way, who _are_ you anyways? You do have a name, right?"

"A' course I do, but why should you know it? You can just call me Master..."

Tony clenched his teeth at that remark.

"Well, can I know your name anyways, just for reference?" Tony of course planned to go home and look up whatever he could about this mystery man.

"Hmm..." The man muttered to himself as he thought about it. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Ok..., your _great_, master's _magnificent _name, Boy, is Samuel Baumbach! But most know me as Sorcerer Baumbach."

Tony wanted to rush into thoughts about this news, but had to force his mind to be silent as he remembered the man's mind reading power.

"So..., what do ya think of ya master's name?" He said in a gravely voice.

"Um..., well it's a_ very_... intriguing name."

"_Intriguing_? Whadda ya mean Boy? I wasn't schooled like you were, I use _simple_ English, so would ya mind speakin' as so from now on."

"Well, actually I _would_ m-"

"Oh, never mind, that's not the point. I don't care if 'in _you _mind; yer a'gonna or be punished harshly if I catch ya using fancy, _wimpy _talk."

"_Wimpy_? How's it wimpy to be a good speaker?"

"If ya can't figure it out, I sure ain't gonna tell ya!"

"Why?"

"An' now yer _whining_! I won't stand for that, so cut it out! Yer so close to a punishment."

"Wh-"

"And didn't ya mention yer late? Shouldn't we be a' gettin' ya home now, to yer _precious Sensei_?"

"Sensei! Oh no! Crap, crap, crap!" Tony let that comment about his sensei slide as he was more worried about what that afore mentioned master was gonna do to him once he was forced to face him. He started fidgeting about with fleeting beliefs of getting away with this.

"Do ya wanna go back my way or not?" The sorcerer's gravely voice said in impatience.

"Yes, of course! Let's go!"

"Come 'ere and try not to scream; this might hurt a bit."

"_More _pain?"

"Yes! Didn't you hear me? Sorcery is painful!"

He sighed,"Great..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; come on."

Tony braced himself for the pain and tried to save what little dignity he had left by not screaming, but he couldn't hold it all in. But he only screamed a little. He heard then men (his new master) say,

"Good, yer adapting to it fast. If yer lucky that might make up for ya bein' such a yellow belly." Tony grimaced and ignored his master's chuckling as best he could.

The first he realized, when he could see straight again, was that they were in the 'video game room' his mage master had helped him set up.

His master had wanted him to have fun, but not to have the games in his room to distract him when he had work to do. But he was only supposed to be in here in his free time, which he so did not have right now.

"Why are we in here? How'd you even know this room existed?" Tony yelled out of shock.

"It's not like I chose what room we'd end up in, but if ya gonna be so impudent I'll give a little preview of _my_ kind of punishments!"

Master Baumbach turned on a game and instructed the controller to fly into Tony's hands and then it yanked him down to the floor; which made it look as if he'd been playing for quite a while.

"What are you doing?!"

"You _dare _question me? Well, well, here's your precious _mage_ master, right on time." Baumbach said chuckling away.

'That laugh, if you can call it a laugh, is gonna get annoying.'

Baumbach didn't seem to notice that comment as he backed away and then slowly made himself invisible; saying, as his mouth disappeared, "Now for the show!"

"Wha..." Tony started, but he then froze as he heard footsteps coming down the hall toward the door. 'He's not seriously gonna have me sitting like this when sensei comes in?'

'Oh yes, I seriously am.' Baumbach thought menacingly.

Before Tony could think or say anything else the door swung open and an exasperated master walked in stiffly as he looked at the sight in front of him. He started to shake in anger and shock.

"You... You..."

"Sensei, it's not what it looks like, just let me explain."

"Explain! Explain what? That you completely skipped your training and you've been in here playing _games_ all night; in a room which I squandered _my _magic to bring from the future to create!"

"No, no, it's the sorcerer! He did it!"

"Oh, now you're a liar, are you!? I didn't teach you to be so impudent and if this is how much respect you have for me then maybe I shouldn't be your teacher anymore!"

"No! No! Sensei, please! You may not believe me, but I would never lie to you. You know that. Even though my explanation isn't very believable and can't be proved..." Tony paused as his sensei scoffed at this. "But it's the truth and I hope that someday I can prove it to you, but for right now this is the best I can do."

His master stared him down till he was ready to compromise.

"I see that you are truthful and even if I can't believe you yet, I trust you and I will let this be for now; but you have to start earning my trust and respect, for you, back."

"Oh, I will; I will master! Just please forgive me."

"I do," As Tony became relieved he added somewhat darkly, "For now..." Tony shrunk down to the floor in a heap as he could hear Baumbach still chuckling behind him.

"See you later, _Boy_!" Baumbach hissed in Tony's ear as he left the vicinity.


End file.
